Whitman Elementary - Tulsa Public Schools

TLE Objectives and Progress Report – January 31, 2012
past 3 years, as evidence by the fact that the district was selected as the ninth regional site for
TFA Summer institute. Over 650 corps members will be in Tulsa and along with TPS faculty
advisors will teach summer school to an estimated 2500 to 3000 students in June 2012.
Creation of 2 new teacher leader roles (Staff Development Teacher and New Teacher
Mentors)
These expanded teacher leader career opportunities have placed highly effective teachers in
coaching, staff development and mentoring positions. The district placed 40 Staff Development
teachers at priority sites to embed professional development at the building level. The New
Teacher Mentors are supporting first and second year teachers. As the district prioritizes key
initiatives that must be funded, the full expansion of these 2 positions rises to the top of the
list.
Value added rollout success
The District rolled out its first value-added reporting in June 2011. Principals, assistant
principals and lead teachers received their 2009-2010 school-level reports only after receiving
several hours of intensive training on value-added methodology and on how this information
should be used as an important tool for identifying effective instructional practices. Teacher
level reports and 2010-2011 school level reports were released in October of 2011. Surveys
conducted after the rollout of the reports revealed that this delivery method was successful in
all respects. On the whole, participants felt comfortable with their understanding of how valueadded
works, and, most importantly, agreed that value-added reports would help them identify
and replicate the practices and programs proven to be real drivers in increasing student
achievement. Plans are underway to release three-year school level reports in early 2012.
NEXT YEAR OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES - MAJOR ACTIVITIES FOR 2012
In addition to the objectives referenced above (see Page 1), the following strategic activities are
also planned for 2012:
• Wider alignment of district wide professional development to teacher evaluation
results. Currently, only targeted professional development is provided to
struggling teachers according to their areas of need. The district plans on making
aligned and relevant professional development a priority for all teachers.
• Develop of a comprehensive rater certification process to ensure rater
agreement and prevent rater drift. Based on the first year experience and
supported by the findings of other Gates partner districts, principals and
assistant principals need continuous training on using the rubric and
differentiating levels of performance. A rater certification process would require
principals to demonstrate mastery prior to evaluating teachers.
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